


To Blush as Red as an Amaryllis

by ceceliatarleton



Series: April Bouquet [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: April Bouquet, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:15:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23695279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceceliatarleton/pseuds/ceceliatarleton
Summary: Chirithy startles Naminé while she draws Ventus's eyes the way he looks at her.Written for a late start April Bouquet. Day One.Amaryllis/Shy.
Relationships: Naminé/Ventus (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: April Bouquet [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1706404
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	To Blush as Red as an Amaryllis

**Author's Note:**

> Written for April Bouquet. Prompt List found here on Kangoo's twitter. https://twitter.com/2Fast2Kangoo/status/1245020176514457600. I read his Vaniku fics that were a part of his following of April Bouquet (as everyone should) and decided to join in. Day One is Amaryllis/Shy.

A pair of eyes dominated the page, vividly blue, but not one solid color, several shades interplaying, filled in with care and detail, until the spark of life strikes and one could see the thought and intent behind the irises. They’re set in a loosely outlined face that sits as barely more than an upside down teardrop. No nose, but a set of full lips downturned slightly in a pout implied with a few quick lines. A lock of hair falling over the left eye, partially obscuring it but not much diminishing the intensity of the gaze, is drawn in such painstaking detail as individual strands, goldenrod and wheat and highlights of sun and lemon. Eyebrows are blurry in places, with a few more intense strokes, page indented slightly, making it clear the artist had found an initial angle wrong and had tried to correct, attempting to erase the color pencil and then press ahead with drawing over it with harsher lines. 

“That’s beautiful. Is that Ventus?” 

Naminé startled, letting out an audible gasp at the sudden intrusion of Chirithy’s voice an inch from her ear. If she had been more aware of her surroundings she would have heard or felt Chirthy scrambling up the back of her chair and peering over her shoulder. She can feel the heat concentrating in her cheeks, and the involuntary prickling in her eyes--a shameful reaction, to cry so easily, more embarrassing by far than the inciting embarrassment of Chirithy seeing her sketch in progress. She cries at every emotion and stimulus still, as much as she has been trying for months to break the habit. Happy tears. Sad tears. Tears of fear that she’s dreaming when she’s awake. Tears when she realizes she isn’t as well. Tears of worry when Kairi told Even to put her in a coma to help her search her heart for Sora. Tears due to the honor of having the trust placed in her to watch Kairi while she slept and to use their connection to draw her dreams and memory paths to Sora. 

Naminé shut her sketchbook with a snap and shook her head violently, blinking away the few tears that had sprung up, cheeks flaming and ears and neck taking the same sunburned tinge. She has no other color. It must be very noticeable.

“It’s not Ventus?” Chirithy cocked his head to the side and frowns, looking genuinely confused, though, if his felt-like plush toy eyes didn’t radiate innocence his tone may have sounded like a mocking challenge. “Is it Roxas then?”

Ventus was nice to her. Nice without pity in his eyes. Nice without words too effusive as if trying to make up for something but a gaze that slid past her and told a story where still nobody cared about a nobody or wanted to spend time with a witch. Ventus saw her and that was what she was trying so desperately to capture in her sketch that she had blocked out everything else.

Ventus sat cross legged on the floor or leaned against the wall and lingered to talk with her when he came by and didn’t seem like he was counting the seconds of small talk he needed to seem polite before he could ask about Kairi, Sora, or Riku or to ask where Even or Ienzo were since they were who people came to visit or consult at the lab. Ventus didn’t make promises about going on adventures together --someday when the time was right as Riku always said-- but Ventus came with gifts unprompted: pretty stones, feathers, crumbling candy wrapped in bright wrappers carried from worlds away. Ventus made jokes and didn’t worry that he’d offended her when her laugh was pale, understanding she was still learning how to be happy--that it was alright to be--and still not pitying her. Ventus was able to talk to fill in the silences she left in conversation without calling attention to it, a habit not unique to him amongst their friends by any means, but when she spoke he fell silent with such speed that it seemed like he sensed her need to share before she even opened her mouth, and he listened with such raptness that she was often left blushing just like she was now with Chirithy.

“It is Ventus.” Naminé said it like a shameful thing. Chirthy beamed.

Ventus had asked her outright to draw him once, had even added please. She had bit her lip and shook her head, whispering something noncommittal. She’d known how it would turn out when she drew him, something telling, something intimate.

He must have been disappointed, She drew everyone else. She’d teared up, of course, thinking she might have made him sad. His smile hadn’t faltered one iota.

She’d given him a rough sketch in broad strokes of him, Aqua, and Terra all together the next time he came by. They both knew it wasn’t the type of drawing he’d wanted but he’d exclaimed over it and it didn’t feel like he was just humoring her.

He’d confessed to her another day about the gaps in his memory. He’d asked if she would be able to help him. She’d told him that in order to see and connect chains of memory she needed a deep connection to the person. He’d looked at her intently and asked why she didn’t think they were connected. She’d turned crimson and had been unable to answer. Ienzo had come into the room a second later and the matter had been dropped.

“Can I take your book and show it to him?” Chirithy practically vibrated with excitement, either not realizing or not caring the request might cross a line.

Naminé hugged the book to her chest. “Where is Ventus?” She turned her head as if he might be hiding in a corner of the room. Chirithy never strayed far from him.

“Buying flowers,” Chirthy cooed the words as he flipped from his perch at Naminé’s shoulder and ended up on her lap. “For you.”

“For me?” She would never be able to quell her blushing now. 

“I told him to,” Chirthy explained, waving his arms, “He might be done at the flower shop. He might be outside, arguing with himself about whether to give them to you or to run them by Aerith’s and then pretend he never bought them in the first place. He was arguing with me before, until I refused to participate. Re-e-e-fused.”

“I..don’t understand.”

“That’s okay.” Chirithy patted Naminé’s cheek with his paw. “I’ll understand for both of you. Now, I can give him your picture and I’ll give you his flowers, but if I tell Merlin he needs to make you two a magical dinner you both need to show up at his house, okay?”

Naminé froze for a long moment, then nodded slowly. 

“Do I need to tear the page out too?”

Naminé shook her head and then opened the sketchbook to the picture of Ventus to tear it out to Chirithy, heart pounding but no tears springing ot her eyes for once, though she kept the blush even in her bravery, as rosy as amaryllis petals.


End file.
